Trending Now on Location: What the Heck is Reddit?

Melissa Knowles

Trending NowMarch 9, 2013

If you read this blog or watch "Trending Now" on a regular basis, you may be better acquainted with Reddit than most of the general public. We often site Reddit as the original source for where our story ideas come from. Even though some would argue that Reddit has and continues to change the way we share news, some people are still not quite sure what it is or how it works.

In the most basic terms, Reddit is a social news and entertainment cite where registered users contribute with links and comments. These users have the ability to vote a story up or down. Stories that get up-voted, are deemed hotter or more important and move up toward the top of the ever-changing list of stories; while those that are voted down, fall in the ranks.

Reddit, known as "the front page of the Internet," was launched in 2005 by co-founders Steven Huffman and Alexis Ohanian.

We had the opportunity to talk one on one with Ohanian. Not only is Ohanian one of the most charming young innovators I've ever met, but his creative prowess in the tech world and ability to make the intangible accessible to the masses is so refreshing.

Here are three things I didn't know about Ohanian, before today, that make him all the more likeable:

1) He is an artist: Ohanian went to art camp during his summers growing up, and is the creator of the Reddit alien mascot, and as marketing director for Hipmunk--yep, he drew the chipmunk mascot for that too.

2) He likes waffles: Ohanian thought he wanted to practice law some day, but realized while eating waffles at a fast-food restaurant that law was not the field for him, and he decided to follow his passion. Thereby, changing the world.

3) He may be the biggest RGIII fan in Brooklyn: Ohanian is a die-hard Washington Redskins fan.